Musical Instruments

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Musical Instruments

About:

Music is the food for life and the Musical Instruments that are created in Tamil Nadu are exclusive and draws awe and admiration. Music and Dance is the pulse of South India. So, it is highly obvious that the musical instruments would be an integral part of the South Indian culture.

Tamil Nadu has numerous centers where this craft of creating musical instrument is popular. This craft is generally practiced in the Thanjavur Region and it is here that some of the finest musicians were produced. It is vital to mention here that the Tamils classify their musical Instruments not according to their types but according to the occasions on which they are played.

History:

Revered Hindu religious scriptures of the Vedas speak of the use of musical instruments in worship. The fact that Indian musical instruments are mentioned in such ancient religious works is indicative of the fact that music had an important role in ancient India. The foundation of Indian music was rooted in three different forms of performance-art. These were Vocal music or singing, instrumental music and dance.

Medieval musical instruments are those that were used between the fifth and seventeenth centuries AD in India. Many religious songs that dealt with the story of Radha and Krishna were composed during this period. During the Muslim invasion of Northern India Indian music came to be divided into the Northern Hindustani music and the southern Carnatic style of music. The instruments used in the medieval era by musicians from both styles of music included the veena, the sitar, the sarod, the shehenai, the tabla, the harmonium and the pakhavaj to name just a few.

Indian music has two main aspects. Rag which deals with the area of melody and Tal which has to do with rhythm. The system of Rag involves the arrangement of seven notes.
Today, many ancient musical instruments are hard to locate and some rare musical instruments that were once an important part of Indian musical tradition are no longer used at all. The 'been',a traditional blowpipe as is usually depicted in pictures of snake-charmers and the 'bhopung', a one-stringed musical instrument are some examples of these.

Features:

The Tamils generally use the Silappadikaaram which is one of the most ancient Tamil Instrument. Moreover you can also come across some of the exquisite Tamil Musical Instruments like Yaazh which comes in the shapes of boat, fish and crocodile.It is almost similar to a harp or a lute which was much in vogue during the ancient times but now has gradually lost their use. It is synonymous to the versatile Veena. It is made up of Jack wood and the various parts of this instrument are made up of Kudam, top plank, neck and yaali. (These are the various parts of this instrument).

There are Thamburas made with wooden bases, Kuzhal-a Wind which is synonymous to Lord Krishna’s Musical Instrument. This is renowned as Vangiyam and is made up of bamboo, sandalwood, bronze and Sengaali and Karungaali woods.